JERUSALEM: Israel on Wednesday advanced plans for building more than 3,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a move condemned by the Palestinians that came a day after the US forcefully criticised such construction. The Civil Administration’s high planning committee gave final approval to 1,800 homes and initial endorsement for another 1,344, a spokesman for the military body that …

SRINAGAR: Police have launched an investigation after several hundred students in India-occupied Kashmir celebrated India’s recent defeat to Pakistan in the cricket World Cup, officials said on Wednesday. Around 300 students in two top Srinagar medical colleges gathered in two hostels watching the match on Sunday and burst into celebrations when Pakistan crushed India in the high-octane contest in Dubai. Videos of …

The United States on Wednesday announced its first passport with “X” for gender, a landmark step for people outside the binary male or female categories. The State Department said it had issued the first passport with “X” for gender and would make the option routinely available by early 2022 both for passports and birth certificates of Americans abroad. “I want …

India has test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,000 kilometres from an island off its east coast amid rising border tensions with China. The successful launch on Wednesday was in line with “India’s policy to have credible minimum deterrence that underpins the commitment to no first use”, said a government statement. The Agni-5 missile splashed down in the …

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon’s top general said on Wednesday that China’s recent test of an earth-circling hypersonic missile was akin to the Soviet Union’s stunning launch of the world’s first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, which sparked the superpowers’ space race. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed for the first time the Chinese test of a nuclear-capable missile …

ISLAMABAD: The Election Comm­ission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to two federal ministers for their tirade against it and the chief election commissioner (CEC). The notices to Information Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry and Railways Minister Azam Swati were issued during hearing of the case involving serious allegations against the ECP and the CEC. A two-member bench comprising ECP members …

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA), during a fortnight, suspended services of 11 healthcare establishments (HCEs) due to different reasons including keeping expired lab reagents, absence of qualified staff and lack of proper waste management system As many as three labs were found involved in preparing fake Covid-19 reports. Moreover, 37 HCEs were served notices and directed to apply for …

RAWALPINDI: As the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) rally heads for Islamabad, the local administration closed Murree Road on Wednesday by placing containers and barbed wires. The local administration has prepared a contingency plan to avoid violence. On Wednesday, the containers were placed on the main roads of Raja Bazaar and adjoining areas. The areas that have been blocked are Mareer Hassan, …

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet was informed on Wednesday that prices of essential items in Pakistan were lowest in South Asia. “Except vegetable ghee, prices of all essential items are lower in Pakistan as compared to the prices in the whole region,” said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry at a press conference after attending a meeting of the federal cabinet presided over …

ISLAMABAD: The Fede­ral Shariat Court (FSC) on Wednesday sought assistance of Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan on a set of petitions challenging the Trans­gender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, for being repugnant to Islamic injunctions. A full bench of the FSC, comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Noor Meskan­zai, Justice Dr Syed Mohammad Anwar and Justice Khadim Hussain …